The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Although they had temporarily widened the gap with the people behind them, they still did not dare to relax. They walked more than 40 miles east that day before gradually slowing down.

Zhang said, "I think there aren't that many people following us anymore. Let's see if there's a cave or an inn where we can rest. A village would be fine too. The wind is blowing this afternoon, and sleeping outdoors can easily lead to colds."

Butcher Liu nodded and said, "That's right."

Zhang Laoer said in a deep voice, "The refugees who escaped from the city in time are a minority after all. Most of those who learned the news later would have been robbed by those refugees and their lives would have been in danger. So we have temporarily kept some distance and should try to find a safe place to rest at night."

Everyone had no objection and paid attention to the villages along the way.

Yichun is a county town after all. Walking eastward, he encountered three or four villages, but no one was willing to give accommodation to strangers. Zhang Pingan went forward and knocked on the door several times. He clearly heard some movement inside, but no one opened the door.

After shouting a question inside, I only heard the middle-aged man's harsh scolding: "Everyone leave, we don't want to stay overnight. I'm telling you, I have a kitchen knife in my hand. If you don't leave, be careful I will open the door and chop you."

The words were spoken harshly, but the trembling voice betrayed how insecure the speaker was.

No matter how many times Zhang Pingan explained, it was useless. All he got was the reply of "get out".

Zhang tried to communicate with them but to no avail. She shook her head and said, "Let's go. The people around here are very wary. I guess they were affected by something that happened before."

Zhang Pingan thought for a moment and guessed, "Could it be that there are bandits, or perhaps the higher-ups are trying to collect taxes and conscription from the surrounding provinces but have failed. A harsh government is more ferocious than a tiger, so the people are so wary of strangers?"

"Everything is possible. Let's keep moving forward," said Zhang.

Jinbao's grandparents were considered very old at that time, and they let out a long sigh.

Unfortunately, after walking another four or five miles, all they saw were rolling hills.

Seeing that it was getting darker, Zhang Pingan said, "Why don't we go to the side to see if there are any caves or something? If we keep walking like this, it will be dark soon, and by then we won't even be able to find a cave, and we'll have to sleep outdoors."

"Okay, sure," Zhang replied.

As soon as he finished speaking, Donkey Egg pointed to the valley in front of him and said, "Look, there's a house over there!"

Zhang Pingan looked in the direction of Donkey Egg'er's finger and said, "There really is a house!"

After taking a closer look at the entire house, he frowned and said, "How can it be a single-family house? It's in the middle of nowhere, with no village or shop nearby. The nearest village is four or five miles away. Who would live in a place like this? And there's no trace of life at all!"

Zhang was old and her eyesight wasn't very good. Now that it was getting dark, she could only vaguely see a house in the direction they were looking. But she knew that something was wrong. After hearing Zhang Ping'an's question, she said, "There must be something wrong. We can't figure out the details, so it's better not to go."

For the middle-aged men like Liu Dalang and Liu Sanlang from Liu the Butcher's family, as well as Liu Da Ge and Liu Er Ge, it doesn't matter. They are in their prime and have the best physical strength, so it doesn't matter to them whether they live in a cave or a farmhouse.

Hearing this, they all nodded and said, "Okay, then let's go and see if there are any caves on either side."

Qian Yongde was unhappy. He had never walked such a long distance in his life. He had to pull a cart with San Ya and pots and pans on it. It was so tiring.

So he objected, "What's so unusual about that? Maybe he's been ostracized by the villagers, so he lives here alone. The lack of homely atmosphere probably means he's too poor and doesn't even have dinner. Besides, there are seventy or eighty of us. Even if they do something weird, how can we be afraid? With my brother-in-law's big body, he'd be knocked flat with just one slap!"

Shen and Ma thought it made perfect sense and were no longer afraid: "Yongde is right. With so many of us, what are we afraid of?"

Zhang Pingan still felt it was strange and disagreed: "It's precisely because we have seventy or eighty people, old and young, that we can't take any risks. Safety comes first."

Qian Yongde didn't give up and wanted to say something: "..."

Zhang Pingan said with a straight face, "Since you want to go with us, Third Brother-in-law, then you have to follow our instructions. We have to move in unison and not have our own ideas. If you absolutely have to go, then go by yourself, and don't follow us."

This is a very serious statement!

"It's not that serious," Qian Yongde muttered in a low voice.

"Ouch, my stomach suddenly hurts so much," San Ya held her stomach and suddenly cried out in pain, attracting everyone's attention.

Qian Yongde immediately rushed to the side of the car and asked anxiously: "San Ya, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?"

Several female relatives also ran over to help. It was getting dark and there was no doctor. It was really worrying!

Xu was also a little worried, but also very suspicious. She frowned and said, "San Ya, tell me the truth, are you pretending, or are you really feeling unwell? We're in the middle of nowhere, so don't cause any trouble!"

Zhang also looked over at her intently, and her eyes made San Ya feel a little nervous.

"Oh, oh, my dear mother, of course it's true. How could you think of me like this? I'm so wronged!" San Ya cried.

Qian Yongde immediately said, "San Ya was due to give birth in a month or two. She's been sleeping in the open air and hasn't had anything good to eat all this time. She must have gotten hurt. Luckily, Jin Bao brought a lot of pregnancy-preserving medicine when he went to the medical office to get medicine before we left. Why don't we stay at that family's house and make some medicine for San Ya? This is the son I've been looking forward to for years. I hope nothing happens to him!"

After saying this, he shed many tears of sadness.

Daya couldn't bear it and advised, "What Sanya and the others said makes sense. There are so many of us, so there's no need to be afraid. The cave is very cold, and she can't stand it with her big belly. Let's go find someone else to stay and make some medicine for her to drink!"

Liu Sanlang always supported his wife unconditionally, and said, "I'll go first later, don't be afraid!"

After hearing this, San Ya screamed even louder.

Zhang Ping'an and his grandmother Zhang exchanged a glance. After a moment, Zhang sighed and said, "Then go. It's hard to persuade a damned ghost with kind words. If you don't show mercy, you'll end up killing yourself!"

"What the hell is this?" Ma muttered.